An Even Greater Challenge

Chapter 2 – New Beginnings

On her own in the dining room, Sophie slipped off the chair and then started pacing back and forth. It was too late, much too late. How could she have said that? Sophie suppressed a wordless cry of horror as she realised just how badly she had messed up and dropped back into her chair, kneading her forehead with so much force that her head started to pound.

'Mim has brought young Miss a cup of cocoa, would young Miss like it in here or in the living room?' Wordlessly, Sophie shook her head because she honestly couldn't think of anything that she cared less about at this moment in time. 'Young Miss would be more comfortable in the living room.' The elf decided and Sophie shrugged and got shakily to her feet, following the tiny elf through into a spacious but comfortable room with a large fireplace ringed by several comfortable-looking sofas. Landscape pictures of coastal views decorated the walls and there were two wide bay windows on either side of the fireplace which, on a good day, would've shown a spectacular view out over the fields and down to the sea. Today, however, she could only see soggy fields, a steel grey boiling sea and heavy rain clouds promising another lashing of rain, beyond the wet glass. Still trembling slightly, she collapsed onto one end of the largest sofa, and the house elf placed the cocoa on a small table in front of her.

'Can Mim be fetching young Miss anything else?' Sophie shook her head and the elf bowed low and then vanished with another faint pop that nonetheless caused her to jump horribly.

She really needed to pull herself together because she couldn't think clearly when she was this anxious and panicky and, right now, she had to use her brain, she had to… Sophie jumped back to her feet, unable to sit still, and started pacing again. As much as she fought against it, panic was now starting to flood through her body and her hands were shaking uncontrollably. The walls of the living room seemed to be constricting around her as her breathing became short and erratic. This had to stop. She had to get a hold of herself. Sophie crossed over to the window and lowered herself onto the window seat. Instinct made her want to wrap her arms around her knees and hide her face but that position hurt her back so she settled for leaning the side of her face against the cold glass, closing her eyes and breathing slowly in and out. Slowly, after several long minutes she felt herself regaining control of her breathing. She was too exhausted now to even try to think her way out of this problem, it was easier just to sit here with her face against the cold glass, breathing slowly in and out and letting her mind wander…

'Winterchild?' She heard the familiar baritone voice through the fog of exhaustion and jerked her head up to see Snape and the headmistress walking towards her. Pushing herself abruptly off the window seat, she tried to stand, but staggered and gasped as the movement sent a spike of fire through her back, more agonising than any she had felt since waking up.

'Merlin child, have I not already told you to move slowly?' Snape murmured, reaching out to steady her before she could crash to the carpet. Sophie yanked her arm out of his grasp and backed against the wall, her eyes watering and her back still stinging. Snape looked down at the tight expression on her face and then turned to the headmistress.

'I'm going to fetch Miss Winterchild another pain relief.' He turned and walked smoothly out of the room. Sophie glanced after him, wondering if he could be any more obvious – he was clearly leaving her alone with the headmistress deliberately.

'Good morning, Miss Winterchild,' the headmistress said quietly, the Scots lilt in her voice light and gentle. Sophie glanced at her, saw the undisguised pity in the woman's green eyes and immediately felt herself flushing. She raised an involuntary hand to her face, touching the scar on her cheek before quickly dropping her hand again. She dropped her eyes to the carpet, feeling uncomfortable and, by default, slightly defensive – she didn't know this woman at all well; her sole interaction with her during her first year at Hogwarts had been when she had told Sophie's group of first years to stop messing around in the Defence Against the Dark Arts wing of the castle (they had been playing hide and seek before class).

'So, you've been having rather a hard time of it, Miss Winterchild,' McGonagall said even more softly. Sophie stared at the polished wooden floor and her own bare feet, suddenly feeling even more defensive when she remembered the ridiculous outfit that she was wearing. 'Would you tell me who gave you those injuries?'

'I fell down the stairs and out of a window.' Sophie said, her voice a monotone.

'Don't lie child. It's clear to both I and Professor Snape that you have been badly treated by someone or perhaps more than one person. Who was it?' Sophie shrugged and continued looking at the floor. 'Who were you talking about when you told Professor Snape that they would kill you if you said anything? Your guardians - your aunt and uncle?' No answer. There was a long silence, long enough that Sophie looked up and saw that Snape was back in the room. He crossed over to them, holding a bottle of potion in his hand.

'You fear retribution from your abusers if you tell us about it, Miss Winterchild?' He said quietly, handing her the potion bottle. The words confused Sophie – she wasn't abused – they only punished her when they had just cause, when she was bad. 'They can't hurt you anymore. You are safe. You will never be sent back to them. They won't hurt you again.' Sophie felt her hand curling of its own accord around the bottle. For the second time that morning she felt tears welling in her eyes and blinked rapidly.

'I'm not abused,' the venom in her words clearly took both of the Professors by surprise. 'They only tried to help me. I have too much dark magic in me. I needed to be purged.' Both of the Professors had identical expressions of horror on their faces but Sophie didn't care because she thought that she might finally be getting them to understand. 'They wanted to stop me turning bad, like my…' She faltered, unable to say the words 'like my mum' because she still missed her so terribly. 'I needed to be punished because I always chose dark magic and they didn't want me to turn out like my parents. Honest, they just wanted to…'

'Stop! Breathe child, before you pass out,' Snape snapped. 'That is…' he hesitated, clearly searching for the right words, '…the most misguided nonsense I have ever heard.'

'Miss Winterchild, how can you have ever chosen dark magic? You are eleven years old.' Professor McGonagall put in, sounding upset. 'Who told you this, was it your aunt and uncle?' Sophie looked at the floor again; her anger was gone and she felt deflated and empty like a pricked balloon. All she wanted now was for the questioning to stop so that she could be left in peace. She closed her eyes and, finally giving up and giving them what they wanted, she nodded.

She felt Snape putting his hand on her shoulder again and squeezing gently, the way he had earlier, and she tensed but didn't back away.

'Child, you aren't with them any longer. You will never be in their care again I can promise you that. You are safe.' There was a long silence. Finally, Sophie opened her eyes and glanced up to find Snape's black eyes looking into her own. She shuddered perceptively and he immediately let go of her shoulder and took a step back.

'I have nowhere else to go.' She said numbly, her voice low.

'We have decided that you will stay here with Professor Snape for the time being.' Sophie's apathy vanished totally and completely and she jerked suddenly away from the two Professors, the potion bottle slipping through her fingers to smash on the floor at her feet. Instinctively she backed against the wall again, raising her hands in front of her to deflect the retribution that she knew would be coming her way.

'Miss Winterchild, please don't…' the headmistress started advancing, her hands extended in front of her but the Potions Master threw out a hand to stop her. Then he himself took a deliberate step backwards, pulling Professor McGonagall with him.

'Easy child,' he murmured. Sophie dropped her hands, feeling foolish at her overreaction.

'I don't want to stay with him!' Fuelled by her embarrassment, the words came out much harsher than she had intended. 'He hates me.'

'I don't hate you, foolish child,' Snape said, his voice lacking its usual venom. 'I know that in the past we have not seen eye to eye, however I'm willing to start afresh, I hope you are too.' It wasn't as if she was being given a whole lot of choice, Sophie griped to herself - Snape might be better than her aunt and uncle. Then again, he might also be a whole lot worse…

'Well?' Snape raised an eyebrow.

'Yes sir,' Sophie muttered resentfully.

'Good.' Snape drew his wand and used it to clean the floor. Then he summoned another bottle of potion and handed it to her. 'Drink.' Sophie didn't dare refuse.

'I picked up some things for you on my way here,' Professor McGonagall said, having watched their exchange in silence. She stepped forwards, her green eyes sweeping up and down over Sophie's body in a way that made the young witch feel uncomfortable. 'I'm sorry, they will probably be much too big on you, I didn't anticipate you being quite so small. Perhaps Professor Snape can alter them to fit you?' Sophie glowered at her and took the offered bag – why did older women always feel the need to comment on people's sizes? It was as if they thought that being old gave them a go ahead to be rude.

'Well?' Snape said, looking expectantly at Sophie.

'Well, what?' He raised an eyebrow at her rudeness but didn't comment on it.

'Say thank you,' he told her. Sophie felt herself flushing again.

'I'm sorry, thank you Professor McGonagall.' She actually meant it too – she was sick of wearing this enormous night shirt. She hoped the headmistress had remembered underwear.

'That's okay, Miss Winterchild,' McGonagall said, her eyes twinkling slightly – she was clearly amused by something, 'these things will do until we can arrange to pick up your belongings.'

'My belongings?'

'Don't be dense, Sophia,' Snape admonished. Sophie looked up at him, feeling her annoyance bubbling up again. 'The headmistress is obviously referring to your school trunk and other items.' Her annoyance dissipated and she felt her earlier numbness returning.

'It's okay, Professor,' she said flatly, not sure whether she was addressing Snape or the headmistress. 'There's nothing left to fetch, they burned them first.' She was positive that the only thing left was her broken wand, and even that seemed to be missing now, lost in transit perhaps. It was strange but there was nothing else that she mourned losing; her aunt and uncle had taken all of her old belongings away when she went to live with them and had given her the necessities to live and nothing more, brand spanking new, clean and completely free from any bad influences. That wand, however, had contained the same core as her mother's; much to her aunt Josephine's horror, Ollivander had let that little nugget of information slip last summer when the wand had chosen her, but it had made Sophie feel closer to her mum somehow. Now it, like everything else, was gone.

****SS****

'I'll keep you informed on how it goes at the Ministry, Severus,' Minerva said as he opened the front door for her.

'That would be appreciated, later Minerva.' He watched as she walked down the steps, moving surprisingly fast even though she was leaning heavily on her walking stick. He watched her until she made it through the gate, raised a hand as she turned to acknowledge him and then turned back inside. The child was sitting on the sofa in the living room, exactly where she'd been when the two adults had walked out of the room. She watched him carefully as he entered the room and took a seat opposite her.

'Well, Miss Winterchild…' Severus paused and the silence stretched uncomfortably. The girl was looking even more uncomfortable and on edge now that the headmistress had left – it was as if she expected him to drop the act now that the audience had left the premises. There was a part of him that felt slightly aggrieved over the whole thing because did the child really think that he was that unreasonable? 'Would you like a tour of the house?' He asked finally.

'No thank you.' He was even more aggrieved by her answer – did she really have to be quite so contrary all of the time?

'Very well, Winterchild,' he said, struggling to keep his irritation out of his voice, 'in that case lunch is served at one o'clock in the dining room. I expect you to be on time. You may go into any room in the house where the door has been left open.' He mentally checked that he had closed the doors to his office, potions laboratory and bedroom. 'You are welcome to explore but please don't break anything.' He stood up and the child did too.

'Sir?'

'Yes, Winterchild?'

'Please can I have a shower? I feel…' She seemed to struggle for the right word, shuddered delicately and then scowled. 'Well, I just meant, am I allowed to shower with my back…?' Severus felt a flash of consternation – of course the child would want to wash and get changed before as a matter of priority.

'Yes of course you can, child, the dressings on your back are fully waterproof although you do need to be careful if you're raising your arms to get clothes on or off.' He wondered if he should offer to help her and then flushed delicately and realised that that would be totally inappropriate. 'I'm sorry, I should've realised that you would want to clean up.' Sophia's eyes bugged out slightly at the apology and she actually gave him a small smile.

'What did the headmistress bring? Do you have everything you need?' The girl hesitated a moment and then handed him the canvas bag reluctantly, as if she was half afraid that he might decide to keep it. It contained two shirts, a knee-length skirt, a jumper, underwear, pajamas, and a pair of brown lace-ups. Everything in the bag was a muted green or grey in colour. Severus resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust and handed the bag back to the girl; she seemed happy enough and the clothes would do until he could get her Diagon Alley for a proper shopping trip.

'Very well then, don't hesitate to call me if you need any help. Feel free to use any of the toiletries in the bathroom cabinet. There's a toothbrush and hairbrush in there for you to use as well.' Sophia gave him another faint smile and nodded.

'Thank you, Professor.' The girl seemed to take a deep breath and then she looked at him with a tentative, slightly calculating expression. 'Can we do the tour later please, sir?' He actually found himself giving her a proper smile as he nodded.

'Yes of course, child, we'll do it after lunch, which is in an hour. Please be on time.'

Severus watched as the child walked slowly up the stairs and then walked into his office, closing the door behind him. He picked up Secrets of the Ancient Craft again, intending to continue his research but then found himself staring at a single line of text over and over again until the words blurred into a wavering line. So much had happened in the last twelve hours and his brain was having trouble processing all of it; he was now a guardian to a young and extremely damaged child and if the truth be told, he had absolutely no idea what to do next.

An hour later, Severus pushed back his chair and stood up, running a tired hand across his face and stifling a yawn. Mim was already serving lunch when he entered the dining room – Severus had had no idea what food would appeal to a half-starved child so he had asked the elf to prepare a simple tomato and bacon pasta dish with cheese which certainly smelled appealing enough. He pulled out a chair and sat down in his usual place, waiting for Sophia to arrive.

'Does Master Severus need anything else?' Severus scanned the table.

'Maybe some pumpkin juice for the girl and I'll have…' Severus hesitated; what he wanted was a glass of neat fire-whisky but he was fully aware that it was not a good idea to start drinking this early in the day, especially not with a young girl in his care. '…water. I'll have water.' He finished, somewhat lamely. The elf nodded, bowed low and then vanished. When he reappeared a few seconds later, he was carrying two large jugs.

'Mim will put the pumpkin juice over here for the young Miss.'

'Her name is Sophia,' Severus said mildly, taking the water jug and pouring himself a large glassful. He raised it too his lips, the ice cubes clinking musically against the glass. It was so cold that it gave him and instant cold-water headache. 'She's late.'

'Mim can go and see if Miss Sophia is coming?'

'No,' Severus huffed out, somewhat irritably. He placed his glass on the table and stood up smoothly. 'I'll go, thank you Mim.' The child was really testing his (admittedly short) patience today – she was probably doing it deliberately too.

He was slightly chagrined when he found her fast asleep, curled like a cat in the armchair in her bedroom. Severus quickly crossed over to her, noting that she had put on the clothes and shoes that Minerva had bought her and that her hair hung in damp rat tails down her shoulders. She looked less comical than when she'd been wearing his oversized night shirt and much better cared for but there was still an air of neglect about her. He quickly used his wand to perform a quick diagnostic spell which told him that she was alive and breathing and her temperature and blood-pressure were both normal. He debated waking her up so that she could eat something as he was concerned that she had already missed breakfast that day. In the end, he decided that she was probably exhausted and that she could eat when she woke up. Knowing first hand just how uncomfortable the chair was, he carried her over to the bed, removed her too-big shoes and covered her with a blanket. Then he cast a quick warding spell over her to inform him when she would wake and left the room.

The child slept for most of the afternoon and it was five o'clock before Severus's wand chimed twice, telling him that she was stirring. He put down his book, stretched and stood up before striding out of his office and walking swiftly upstairs. He met her on the landing outside the bathroom – the girl looked groggy, as if she was still half asleep and she was holding onto the wall to keep herself upright.

'Good afternoon, Sophia, how are you feeling now?' She jumped horribly and then winced and scowled at him, and Severus realised that she hadn't seen him before he spoke. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.' The child simply shrugged and glowered sullenly at the floor. 'You missed lunch.' She looked up quickly, sidestepping away from him.

'I'm sorry sir! I didn't mean to!'

'I wasn't reprimanding you,' Severus replied, trying not to sound irritable – obviously the girl was nervy and it was bound to take her some time before she was comfortable around him. In the meantime, he was just going to be patient and understanding, two things that he had never particularly excelled at.

'I was just going to say that I will get Mim to cook you something now as it's very important that you have something to eat.'

'I'm not hungry.' Severus looked at her calculatingly, wondering if she was just being defiant or if she was really not interested in food. He remembered how emaciated her body was under the clothes and wondered to himself – the child had clearly not been eating properly for a very long time to get in that state. The school holidays had only begun two weeks ago and before that she had been at Hogwarts with three square meals a day, three meals that she had clearly not been eating.

'This is not up for discussion, Winterchild,' he said finally, 'come downstairs when you've used the bathroom.'

'I said I'm not hungry, I'm tired and I just want to go back to my room!'

'Nevertheless, you will eat.' He turned, wishing to remove himself from the discussion before it escalated.

'You can't force me, greasy git!' The girl's voice was low enough that Severus could've pretended that he hadn't heard anything but his sense of dignity had him swinging round to face her again. She immediately backed up against the wall and raised her hands in front of body and he forced himself to take two steps backwards.

'That is enough, Winterchild.' He snapped, ignoring the fact that she had started to tremble. 'You are totally out of line. We are not going to have an argument over this. You will eat or I will personally force feed you a nutrition potion and I can promise you that they aren't particularly appetising. Do you understand?' The girl glowered at the floor, not answering.

'Look at me, I said do you understand?' Reluctantly, she looked up, her eyes full of resentment.

'Yes sir,' she spit out.

'Good, come downstairs as soon as you have used the bathroom. Oh, and Winterchild,' he pulled his wand out of his pocket and immediately a look of abject terror appeared on the child's face. 'Easy child, I'm not going to hurt you. I just wondered if you wanted me to shrink those clothes to fit you?' When she nodded her agreement, Severus moved forwards and sent a few shrinking spells at her clothes and shoes. Although he did his best, the results weren't particularly good – shrinking and enlarging spells tended to damage and stretch fabric until it lost its shape and quality and it took more skill than he had in this department to make the results actually look good. Nevertheless, the clothes fit her slightly better and the shoes would no longer trip her up. Resolving to take her shopping as a matter of urgency, he slid his wand back into his pocket. She didn't thank him and turned wordlessly into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Severus hesitated, then hearing the thud of the toilet seat, he hurried away.

Sophia joined him in the dining room five minutes later, slipping silently and sullenly into a chair. Severus looked carefully at her, noting the dark shadows under her eyes and her pale, slightly waxy complexion.

'How are you feeling, Sophia?' He asked quietly, intending to start afresh. The girl simply shrugged and glared at the table. 'How is your pain?' At that, her eyes flicked up but she didn't speak. 'Look,' Severus sighed tiredly, 'I'm aware that the wounds on your back are painful, child. This morning, I gave you a pain relief potion that should've lasted four to five hours. However, I'm sure that is now wearing off. However, I am not a mind reader,' he chuckled internally as he caught himself in the lie, even though he was telling the truth in this particular context, 'and I would like you to tell me when you need a potion.' She stared at him for a few seconds as if weighing up her options and, resignedly, he wondered if she was debating refusing a potion simply to be un-cooperative. Then she shrugged again and sagged a little in her chair.

'It hurts,' she mumbled, her voice breathy and quiet.

'Okay child,' Severus flicked his wand and summoned a pain relief potion, which he handed to her. Her hand reached out but she didn't take the bottle immediately – she seemed to be fighting with herself. He waited patiently until she finally seemed to win whatever internal struggle she was having and grabbed the bottle, quickly swallowing down the contents.

At that moment Mim appeared, carrying two plates of food - although it was still much earlier than Severus usually ate, he had decided to lead by example in an effort to encourage the child. He had also opted to have the meal served up in the kitchens and brought out rather than a 'serve-yourself' arrangement simply because he was trying to avoid another argument, this time regarding portion sizes and eating vegetables. He looked down at the lean chicken breast, boiled potatoes in butter, carrots, broccoli and sweet potatoes, the most simple and nutritious meal he had been able to think of, and picked up his knife and fork.

'Okay, Sophia, this is how it is going to work. You are going to eat some dinner without any arguments. If you don't like something then that is okay, I will not force you to eat it. However, I do expect you to at least try it first. Do you understand?' The child glowered at him and didn't respond but she picked up her knife and fork. Severus congratulated himself on the small win.

Winterchild actually ate more than he had expected. She also ate it without argument which Severus took as another win. She had got through more than half of what Mim had served her, which, if the truth be told, had been an optimistic size portion in the first place, when Severus saw that she had stopped eating and was pushing the food around her plate.

'Are you done, child?' He had tried to ask the question kindly but, even so, she glared him.

'I'm eating it, sir!' She sighed resignedly and picked up her knife and fork again and then started backwards as Severus flicked his wand at her plate, vanishing it and the remaining food.

'I don't expect you to eat if you are sated, child, I don't want you to make yourself unwell.' Relieved that he could also stop pretending to be hungry himself, he vanished his own plate and then he leaned forwards, resting his chin on the tips of his clasped fingers as he surveyed her.

'Minerva sent the official documents to me this afternoon and I have already signed them and sent them on to the Ministry. For the time being, I am your official guardian, Sophia.' He ignored the way that she winced perceptively at this piece of information. 'Do you understand what I'm telling you, child? Your aunt and uncle have no power over you any-more.'

'Yes sir.' He looked at her sharply, wondering why she sounded so miserable.

'Obviously, now that I am your guardian, this also changes our relationship, Sophia. We are not in school any-more and I am now your guardian first and foremost and your professor second so while I certainly appreciate respect, I think we can be a little less formal with each other.'

'Yes s-sir.' She seemed confused by this.

'There is no need for you to keep calling me sir; how about you call me Severus when we're at home?' She looked shocked by this.

'Yes sir-Severus?' There was a question in her tone, as if she was expecting him to rescind what he had just said.

'When we go back to school, of course, you must revert to calling me Professor or sir at all times. Do you understand?' She nodded. 'Do you have any questions, Sophia?' She shook her head and then looked up abruptly.

'It's Sophie.'

'What do you mean, child?' Severus asked.

'My real name… I… it's Sophie, not Sophia.'

'Okay.' Severus briefly wondered how he could've gotten it wrong.

'My… my aunt changed it to Sophia when I went to live with them. My mum called me Sophie after my grandma but… but after she died, my aunt said I didn't deserve to be named after someone so good and changed it to Sophia.' It was probably the most information that she had voluntarily given him that day and Severus carefully occluded his mind to ensure that his fury did not show on his face because he was sure she would believe that his anger was directed at her and not at what she had told him. 'I don't mind though, sir, I mean S- Severus,' she stumbled slightly over his name. 'I'll answer to Sophia too. It's fine.'

'Child, Sophie, if you wish me to call you be that name then of course I will.' He looked at her carefully. 'If you wish, I can also start proceedings to get your name changed officially back to Sophie?' He was gratified when she gave him a small smile and a nod. Another win.

After a small dessert of fruit and cream which Sophie barely touched, Severus took her on a brief tour of the house throughout which the girl was silent but attentive. He made it very clear that she was allowed in every room except his office, his private potions laboratory and his sleeping quarters – regardless of the fact that he wanted to maintain his privacy, there were things in those rooms, particularly the potions laboratory and his office which could be extremely harmful if handled in the wrong way. When they reached the small library, Severus paused, wondering how he could prevent her from picking up some of his more unsuitable books as he owned literature that delved deep into the dark arts and blood magic rituals.

'For the time being, this room is off limits too unless I am with you.' Her face fell slightly and he tried not to feel a small twinge of guilt at her disappointment. He handed her his own copy of Magical Drafts and Potions. 'I'm sorry, I have no other literature suitable for you right now but we will go to Diagon Alley soon.' She seemed even more miserable at this and Severus started to get irritated.

'It's the best I can do for the moment Sophie, I am not used to entertaining eleven-year-olds.' She was silent until they had walked back through to the living room.

'It's not that sir,' she corrected herself, 'I mean S-Severus, it's just that I… I don't have any money. I can't buy school things or books or...' Her voice wobbled slightly and Severus briefly wondered how it must feel to be totally alone in the world at the age of eleven. Of course, she wasn't totally alone because she had him but she didn't trust him yet.

'Child, I am your guardian so let me worry about the finances.' He said softly.

'But…'

'It's my role as your guardian,' he repeated. 'Now come and sit down.' She had stopped on the threshold, one foot inside the room, one in the hallway and she rocked indecisively from one to the other. 'What is it now, child?' Severus tried to sound kind but it came out sounding exhausted and the scowl reappeared on her face and she looked at the floor again. He sighed to himself. 'Do you want to ask something?' He asked, trying to prompt her into speaking. She looked up at that.

'I'm not going back to my aunt and uncle?' She asked abruptly, the words tangling with each other in her haste. 'I'm never going back? Not ever? Not even…?' She trailed off.

'No, you will never go back there. You will never be hurt by them again.' He could see that she still didn't quite get it. Severus determined to keep repeating it until she did and he was fully aware that it might take some time.

'Not even…?' She paused again.

'Not even what?'

'Not even when I make you mad?' Severus noted that she had used the word 'when' and not 'if'. 'When I make you mad, will you send me back then?'

'Of course not, Sophie; never means never.' He looked at her, watching carefully as she processed what he had told her. 'Are you planning on making me mad then?' He asked finally, trying to interject some humour into his tone. Apparently, she didn't see the funny side and her scowl deepened and she dropped her eyes again.

'No, but I never meant to make them mad either and I always did.'

'Look at me, child.' She didn't raise her eyes from the floor. 'What do you think is going to happen if I get angry?'

'You'll punish me,' she said swiftly, sounding very sure of herself all of a sudden.

'I said, look at me Sophie.' Her eyes snapped up abruptly and he saw the fear written across her face. 'If you deliberately break the rules then yes of course you will be punished. Easy child…' She had started to tremble at his words and he hurried on, wanting desperately to reassure her. 'I will never hurt you. I will make you write lines or do chores or something similar, like in school when you have a detention.' Her cheeks flushed slightly at this and Severus shifted uncomfortably in his seat – they were both clearly thinking back to that previous detention again. 'Do you understand child? I will never beat you, whip you or starve you. I will not hurt you in any way.'

'I don't know what the rules are so I don't know if I'm breaking them or not.' She challenged, but her voice lacked its usual contention. Severus realised that he hadn't actually established any ground rules beyond respect and not going into certain rooms. The child might calm down a little if she knew the boundaries.

'I expect you to be polite to me and truthful at all times - I do not tolerate lying at all. As I have already said, I expect you to stay out of the rooms I have specified unless I am with you or you have my permission to enter and, tomorrow, if the weather improves and we find the time, I will take you on a tour of the grounds and show you where the boundaries are. You may go outside if the weather is good but I want you to inform me when you do so, so that I know where you are. Please try to keep your room clean and tidy – I won't have Mim being treated as a slave to clean up your mess. Oh, and I expect you to be on time for meals.' Severus wondered if he had covered all the necessary bases – he was actually incredibly out of his depth but he was trying to seem like he was in control. 'Bed time will be at nine o'clock but you may read until ten.' The child nodded and Severus breathed an internal sigh of relief that she wasn't being contrary over this too. There was a long pause during which he tried to think over what he had said and anything that he might possibly have missed. He couldn't think of anything important. 'Come and sit down now.' She hesitated again and then raised a hand and yawned widely.

'Can I go back to bed, sir?'

'Severus,' he corrected automatically. He glanced at his watch – it was barely seven o'clock and wondered cynically if she just wanted to get out of his presence, although looking carefully at her he could see that she was exhausted.

'Of course, child. I do need to check on your back before you go to sleep and I need to apply some more ointment.' The sullen mask slid back across her face at his words.

'I can do it. I don't need you.'

'No, you can't, Sophie, so I will be up in a quarter of an hour,' Severus said firmly. 'Go and clean your teeth and get changed for bed.'

'I can do it,' she repeated.

'I'm not going to tell you again, child.' She hesitated but then her stubbornness seemed to win out over her obvious fear of him.

'You can't make me! I won't!'

Severus felt his own irritation rising. He forced himself to remain seated and carefully occluded his mind, calming himself and keeping his face blank of emotion in the process.

'You need medical attention, Sophie. This is not up for discussion.'

'It is up for discussion!' She insisted. 'It's my body so of course it's bloody well up for discussion.' His former irritation vanished and the feeling of being totally and completely out of his depth swept over him again and Severus resisted the urge to place his head in his hands.

'I don't tolerate foul language either Sophie,' he told her quietly, 'no!' He raised a finger as she made to interrupt him. 'As I have said already this is going to happen so let's make it as easy as possible for the both of us.'

'But I don't want you to see!'

'I have already seen, child,' he told her gently, 'and I need to check your back again to help the wounds to heal cleanly and free from infection. I can also apply scar serum to your other scars to help them to fade over time. Do you understand?' Still, she hesitated. Severus tried again. 'The lash marks on your back and the scars on the rest of your body are nothing to be ashamed of. They are testament only to a bad thing that has happened to you in the past.'

'I…'

'It's natural to feel uncomfortable Sophie but I won't have you feeling ashamed. Come now.' Before she could dig her heals in any more, he stood up, took her arm gently and led her out of the room and up the stairs. He could feel the tension running through her body and into his own hand and wondered if she was going to blow.

When they reached her bedroom, Severus reached into the bag that Minerva had brought with her and withdrew the night clothes. He handed them to the girl and then he handed her the pot of scar serum.

'Go and get changed in the bathroom and clean your teeth. Rub the cream into any scars you can see on your front and your face.' She glowered at him but mercifully she didn't argue.

While she was gone, Severus systematically arranged the other clothes into the wardrobe, once again promising himself that they would go shopping at the first possible opportunity. He drew the curtains and lit the lamps and he had just sat down on the bed to wait for her to return when she flounced back into the room. She was determinately looking at the floor again, and not at him as she marched over to the chair and threw her discarded clothes over its back.

'Hang them up properly please,' Severus said quietly – perhaps it was a battle that wasn't really worth fighting but it slipped out; he himself had always been brought up to care properly for his belongings.

'It doesn't matter! I'm just going to put them on again tomorrow morning.' The earlier venom was back in her voice.

'Even so, they will look better if they are hung up tonight and not creased from being crumpled on the chair overnight,' Severus said reasonably, resisting the urge to sigh.

'Fine, whatever!' She took a large step forward, tripped on the hem of her overlarge pajama bottoms and fell awkwardly against the side of the chair, crying out as the movement jerked her back.

'Child!' He was by her side in an instant but she ignored his proffered hand and dragged herself upright independently, tears of pain welling in her eyes.

'I'm fine, sir! Go away.'

'Come over to the bed, Sophie,' Severus said gently.

'I'm fine, I… I still don't want… I'm fine.' Her breath hitched unevenly and she bit back a whimper, telling him (and herself) that she was anything but fine.

'Don't fight me on this again, come and lie down on your front.' Trembling slightly and still biting her lip against the pain, she did as he bid; lying on her front and burying her face in the pillow. 'Try to relax now.' With a jab of his wand, he vanished the pajamas that she was wearing then he gently began to unpeel the dressing from her back, buttocks and legs. He examined the wounds, feeling sick to his stomach as he saw them again although, at the same time, he was also relieved that none had reopened during the day. There was no sign of infection but there was also no real sign of any improvement although Severus was not used to watching the slow muggle healing method. He carefully applied the topical anti-infection salve he had made that afternoon as well as liberal amounts of antibacterial potion, apologising and murmuring gentle words as the girl winced and hissed. Finally, he used his wands to cover the wounds with fresh dressings. He flicked his wand again and the child's pajamas reappeared. A second flick shrunk them to a slightly less voluminous size.

'All done, Sophie. I'm sorry if that was painful for you.' She didn't move for several seconds. 'It's okay child,' he placed a hand on her trembling shoulder, 'I'm done.' He wondered if she was crying but when she finally looked up, her face was dry and her expression was angry.

'Good, can I sleep now?' Her tone was hostile but he didn't reprimand her because, quite frankly, he had had enough for one day.

'Yes of course, child. I am directly across the hall if you need anything at all in the night. Goodnight now.' She ignored him, pulling up the blanket to her chin and burying her face once more in the pillow. Severus extinguished the lamps and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him – it had been a long and exhausting day.

Here is a slightly earlier update than expected as I am busy during the first week of July. Please drop me a review or a PM to let me know what you think. The next update will probably be the first week of August.